Home on Balsam Sensory Kits

Today was the perfect rainy day to revamp the playroom into an apple orchard! We turned the play cart into an Apple stand and added a pick your own Apple tree to the wall.
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Natalie wasn’t feeling her best this morning, so I made the tree, but typically I would have her paint green and brown to create the tree on her own, which encourages process art! Her sensory bin is full of early literacy and math opportunities and is also equipped with fine motor tools to get those hands and fingers stronger while she plays.
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Did you know having cups of different sizes and encouraging words such as big, small, large and medium during play is promoting early math for preschool children? Posting signage or labels that encourages sorting by color and size is also encouraging early math during play!

When it rains, we play ☔️ Don’t let a little rain ruin your day!

Ex-squeeze me?! How adorable is this lemonade stand?! 🍋
This cart has been used for so many dramatic play scenarios and it never disappoints! I moved the sensory table closer to the cart so the imaginative play between both areas could intertwine.. will I regret this? Maybe 🤪 but it will be so much FUN - and that’s all that matters, right?!

Dough jars make awesome end of the year gifts - for your littles to congratulate them on a year well done, or from teachers to students to celebrate the beginning of Summer!

I am taking orders now to ensure end of the year fun is ready on time! 🍉

Loving our lemonade sensory bin this month! It’s as simple as dying rice - we added some lemon flavor while dying the rice so it would smell like the real thing!

We also added some lemon fruit sorters from our Learning Resources fruit sorting set and fine motor tools, as well as some other fun lemons I had on hand from sensory kits! The fun mini cups and pitchers came from the dollar tree 💛🍋 so simple!

One kit in stock! Grab it and enjoy this week 🤗

Whose ready for the rain to go away and the sun to come out? ☀️

There’s nothing better than an ice cold glass of lemonade on a warm Spring day! Lemonade kits are giving me all the warm weather vibes I need today 🍋

Rainy days ☔️ call for play dough!

I gave Natalie all the fixings to make play dough ice cream, but she chose to get her animals out to make footprints instead!

Garden kits are equally beautiful before and after they’re opened! 🌷☀️

Spring has sprung! It feels like the snow lasted forever, but it’s finally gone, and time to celebrate the warmer weather ahead!
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Gardening kits are the perfect way to welcome in the Spring season! These kits include so many fun items - including mini fruits and veggies, flowers, mini flower pots and the cutest mini watering can! Little minds and hands are sure to be so busy planning their gardens for days to come! 🦋

It’s almost mud season.. who else is excited?! 🙋🏼‍♀️

It’s almost Easter! Be sure to place your orders while supplies last 🐣

Did you know? Sensory play is fun, but it also encourages open ended play! In open ended play, there are no specific outcomes and it is all about the process, not the end product.
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There are no “rules” or right or wrong ways to play! Open-ended play is about having fun and it helps lay a healthy foundation to develop a love of learning.

Hop to it! This year’s Easter kits will be similar to what I offered last year!
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Pictured here are bunny jars and full size Easter themed kits. Custom kits may be ordered as well!

Hi everyone!!! I took a little bit of a break after Christmas! Mainly because our mail situation was a disaster and I was waiting for it to get better - unfortunately, we still don’t have a mail carrier and things have been crazy over here with deliveries etc!
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I am now re-open for custom orders and plan to have some Easter themed options available in the coming month(s)! Let me know anything you’d like to see in the next few months. Thanks for sticking around! ❤️

Sometimes the thought of painting with your toddler or preschooler seems daunting. They mix all the colors together, fill the ENTIRE paper with paint and may even paint themselves 😆
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BUT - did you know the process of painting is important, and not the outcome of the art? Process art lets the child take control and be creative in their own way, without adult interference or ideas. Crafts have their place, but process art is so much more meaningful… and not to mention, FUN!

We are finishing cleaning up Christmas today! In order to keep my kids busy while we make 100 trips to the basement and back (🤪) we set up this super simple sensory table!
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Rice, Pom-poms, scoops, funnels and pretend ice cubes and snowflakes make up this fun bin along with some penguins and polar bears we already had in the playroom. Super simple, super easy and super meaningful!

Open ended play is so simple ❤️

"It is through children's early childhood experiences, when the brain is rapidly developing, that we have the opportunity to support learning through a child's natural curiosity and imaginative play. From birth through age 5, children's brains are literally forming the complex web of synapses that last throughout their lives, and greatly impact their social, emotional, physical and cognitive performance as adults.

One of the best ways to nurture development is with open-ended play. Open-ended play materials allow children to make choices, express their creativity and support their independence. Open-ended materials by definition do not have a predetermined use." - Neurochild

A stick can be a wand, horse, part of a fort, sword or any number of other things in play. It is through these experiences that children are able to learn best.

A few examples of open-ended materials include:

* Sticks
* Mud, water, rocks
* Buckets, baskets, milk crates
* Lumber, tires, bricks
* Sheers or silks

Be intentional about providing children with materials that let them make choices about play, and support them in strengthening their cognitive, language and social skills in the process.

There are endless opportunities! 💕
https://thegracefulolive.com/.../children-need-open.../

Look how fun this kit is as an elf on the shelf gift! Love getting these photos from customers ❤️

Hi everyone! I will be closing Christmas orders this weekend after all. We are having some major mail issues in our neighborhood, we currently have no mail carrier and packages that have been due to come are majorly delayed. I am worried that if I continue to take orders, they will not be ready for Christmas due to this!
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I want to thank everyone for their Christmas orders, and I have LOVED seeing all of your little ones using their kits so far! If you already have an order placed, I will be reaching out with delivery/pickup dates soon! Thanks for all of your orders and support this season, Merry Christmas!

Christmas order deadlines have been extended! Please message me for orders or with questions ☺️

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Enjoy your day with family and friends ☺️

Need to keep little hands busy today while you’re prepping for Thanksgiving tomorrow? I always buy some extra cranberries and toss them in the freezer for my kids to use in water! They’ve been sitting here for over an hour with this simple activity! (the frozen cranberries also work great as festive ice cubes for adult drinks 😆)

Putting together custom orders is my favorite!! Already loving this Arctic Animal kit and Little Blue Truck kit, even without the dough!

This year’s seasonal kits are all photographed and ready to go! Orders remain open ☺️
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Orders for custom kits wanted as Christmas gifts also remain open! Please message me with any orders or question you may have.

“He packed up their presents, their ribbons, their wrappings! Their snoof and their fuzzles, their tringlers and trappings!”
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This Grinch is ready to steal away Christmas! With a bag big enough for all of these Christmas goodies, this kit is a great way for little ones to retell their favorite Christmas story (or movie) and help the Grinch realize the true meaning of Christmas!

Snowman jars are fun all winter long!
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These adorable jars will spark the imagination of little hands and minds when it’s a bit too chilly to make the real thing outside! ❄️